Santina da Fusio

(Santina of Fusio)
by Mirto Storni
48’, Switzerland, 2009

Santina’s “garden of wonders” is above Fusio, at 1400 metres, at the top of the Valle Maggia. Up there, Santina, tiny and energetic, with a vivacious expression and ready laugh, lives in a small house without electricity, television, refrigerator, or washing machine. A wood-burning stove is all she needs. She lives on what she produces in her garden, where she cultivates vegetables, flowers, and medicinal herbs, guided by the bio-dynamic calendar. In summer she scours the mountains for berries and herbs. In winter, she sews peduli, antique cloth shoes.

Mirto Storni
Born in Lugano in 1947, after studying art history he began collaborating in 1973 with the Cultural Department of the TSI (Swiss Television in Italian) where he continues to work as a writer and director of
documentaries on historical and artistic topics.